Concessionary travel passes

Dear Mr Eriksohn,

Thank you for your request for information. I have forwarded it to Paul
Shaddock traffic technician for response.

You should receive a reply by 27.01.09.

If you do not receive a reply by this date, or need to contact us
regarding this matter, please quote your reference CRM 401000006180

Regards

Jo Williamson
Customer Services Officer
Amesbury Information Point
01980 622833
[email address]

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Dear Mr Eriksohn

I am writing in response to your recent Freedom of Information (FoI
hereafter) Act request for information relating to the issuing of
concessionary travel passes.

Before providing responses to the five questions raised within your email
I feel it would be useful to first provide you with some general
information regarding the issuing of concessionary travel passes in
Salisbury. This information will help provide some context to my
responses.

General Information

In terms of issuing concessionary travel passes the scheme operated by
Salisbury District Council meets the statutory minimum as defined by the
Transport Act 2000 and the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007. The two
aforementioned acts define the statutory minimum as being the issuing of
concessionary travel passes to a "disabled person" and to a "elderly
person".

In relation to the issuing of concessionary travel passes to a "disabled
person" Section 146 of the Transport Act 2000 defines a "disabled person"
as a person who:

a. is blind or partially sighted,

b. is profoundly or severely deaf,

c. is without speech,

d. has a disability, or has suffered an injury, which has a
substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to walk,

e. does not have arms or has long-term loss of the use of both
arms,

f. has a learning disability, that is, a state of arrested or
incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of
intelligence and social functioning, or

g. would, if he applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor
vehicle under Part III of the [1988 c. 52.] Road Traffic Act 1988, have
his application refused pursuant to section 92 of that Act (physical
fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or
alcohol,

For your information I have enclosed below a link to Section 146 of the
Transport Act 2000.

[1]http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2000/ukp...

The specific eligibility criteria for bullet points A to G listed above
are described in detail in a document published by Department for
Transport entitled `Guidance to Local Authorities on Assessing Eligibility
of Disabled People in England for Concessionary Bus Travel'. This document
was originally published in November 2005 but was updated in February 2008
just prior to the onset of the new England wide concessionary travel
scheme. Again, for your information I have enclosed below a link to this
document.

[2]http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses...

Responses to Questions

My responses to the questions raised in your FoI request are shown below
in italics.

Response to Question 1

Does your authority provide concessionary travel passes to those
individuals registered with their local Social Services department as
disabled on the grounds of being a mental health user or survivor?

No, other than if the applicant is eligible under Bullet Point F of the
definition of a "disabled person" in the Transport Act 2000 and the
specific eligibility criteria described in detail in the Department for
Transport document entitled `Guidance To Local Authorities On Assessing
Eligibility Of Disabled People In England For Concessionary Bus Travel'.
The specific eligibility criteria quoted in this document are:

"(f) has a learning disability, that is, a state of arrested or incomplete
development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence
and social functioning"

51. A person with a learning disability has a reduced ability to
understand new or complex information, a difficulty in learning new
skills, and may be unable to cope independently. These disabilities must
have started before adulthood and have a lasting effect on development.
The person should be able to qualify for specialist services and he or she
may have had special educational provision

.

52. The Department of Health adopted the term 'learning disability' in
1992. It has the same meaning as its predecessor 'mental handicap' but it
is seen as more acceptable, particularly in reducing the confusion with
mental illness.

53. In determining eligibility in a case where there has been no
previous contact with specialist services a local authority should
normally require independent medical advice, or check any register of
people with learning disabilities which might be held by the Social
Services Department of the applicant's local council.

Response to Question 2

If your authority does have such arrangements why was the decision taken
to extend the scheme in this way and what arrangements are in place?

Salisbury District Council has no such arrangements.

Response to Question 3

If your authority does have such arrangements does you authority have some
other arrangement beyond the statuary minimum to provide passes to those
with mental health issues?

Salisbury District Council has no arrangement beyond the statutory minimum
(as defined above) to provide any person with a concessionary travel pass.

Response to Question 4

If your authority does not have such arrangements why was the decision
taken not to extend the scheme in this way and has consideration been
given to extending the scheme in this way in the future?

To date the extension of the concessionary travel scheme operated by
Salisbury District Council to cover the issuing of concessionary travel
passes to persons registered with their local Social Services Department
as disabled on the grounds of being a mental health user or survivor has
never been considered.

As you may be aware from April this year Salisbury District Council (along
with the other District Councils within Wiltshire) will be abolished and
replaced by one new council covering the whole of Wiltshire. This new
council will be called Wiltshire Council and it will be responsible for
the operation of the concessionary travel scheme throughout the whole of
the county. As a result of this change the extension of the concessionary
travel scheme in any way would be a matter for the new Wiltshire Council,
and more specifically the Passenger Transport Unit, to consider.

Response to Question 5

Would it be possible to provide copies of any relevant policy documents
you may have?

I have attached five documents that relate to the concessionary travel
scheme currently operated by Salisbury District Council.

I hope that the above and enclosed information is of use.

Regards

Paul

______________________________________

Paul Shaddock

Traffic Technician

Salisbury Joint Transportation Team

37 Endless Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1DP

tel: 01722 434671

fax: 01722 434261

email: [3][email address]

web: [4]www.salisbury.gov.uk

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